Frangible collar fasteners are commonly used in a variety of applications such as aircraft and aerospace applications. The frangible collar fasteners include a bolt engaging portion which is threadably engagable to a bolt, and a frangible nut portion which facilitates tightening of the bolt engaging portion to the bolt. The frangible nut portion is designed to break off from the fastener after it has been tightened to a defined torque. As a result, the bolt engaging portion remains secured to the bolt and the separated nut portion can drop to the surrounding work area, or otherwise fall as debris into the structure being constructed. Where the structure includes areas of limited access, such as a wing box or other confined space, it may be difficult to recover the nut portions after they become separated from the fastener. Given the potential harm that such loose debris can cause to mechanical avionics systems, weapons systems, fuel systems and the like, is imperative that such debris is not allowed to remain loose within the structure.
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for tightening frangible collar fasteners and retaining the separated portions of the fasteners in a reliable manner that avoids introduction of debris into the work area. The present invention is intended to capture a plurality of separated nuts within a single socket that can be used to tighten the fastener. As such, a plurality of fasteners can be tightened without needing to discharge each collected fastener one at a time. As a result, the invention provides a reliable apparatus for tightening fasteners and storing the separated nut portions in an efficient manner that enhances safety and allows improved production rates.
Further details of the invention are set forth below and described in connection with the accompanying drawings.